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Alexander Stitt, with a Swinburne student, Stephen French
Run, bike or walk your way to a rarely-seen film by the Life Be In It animator.
You may not know the name, but you certainly know the work of Alexander Stitt. His work as a designer, illustrator and animator include some of Australia's most memorable illustration work of the seventies and eighties.
At the age of 20, Stitt made one of Australia's first animated television commercials, for Silver Star Search. He helped Fred Schepisi produce his first films, and co-created Icopta (the animated man from the Classified Pages of The Age). He was also a partner in the all-Australian Jigsaw Toys - and worked on the magical and fondly-remembered design of its Richmond headquarters that famously had two doors (a normal one, and a tiny one for children!)
With its lairy colour, cheery personality and strong graphic sensibility, the look of Alexander Stitt's work is instantly recognisable - and has been seen on everything from children's books to postage stamps. But it is the television ads produced by his company Al et. al. that are his most famous work. The long-running Life Be In It campaign starring couch potato Norm, and Slip, Slop Slap with animated seagull Sid, were both Stitt creations. Phillip Adams, who as an advertising executive commissioned these campaigns, described him as "a genius... the most under-recognised bloke in the country".
Alexander Stitt made two feature films. Again working with Adams, Stitt adapted John Gardner's novel Grendel into a feature length animation released in 1982 - voiced by Peter Ustinov. In Kids' Flicks, we're showing his other feature film - Abra Cadabra of 1983. This children's film brims with wit and period panache: it's a sci-fi Pied Piper story featuring the voices of Jacki Weaver and John Farnham. And because it's not available on video or DVD, this is a rare chance to see the work of a true master of Australian animation.
Run run, run run! Ride ride, ride ride! Get into ACMI Cinemas for these screenings any way you can!
For screening details click here
Published Monday, 13 October 2008
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